Interesting facts about dolphins

Everyone loves dolphins. It is clever, curious, playful creatures that fascinated people since time immemorial. But if not for their interesting behavior, dolphins would not be loved by all aquatic mammals. Adjusting to life in the harsh ocean environment requires a certain serious skills. As a result, the Dolphins have won some incredible abilities that surprised researchers and scientists.

10. Insomnia.

Everyone needs sleep. Randy Gardner, a world record holder, did not sleep 11 consecutive days. On the fourth day, he developed hallucinations. Lack of sleep in a mammal results in death, but it does not concern dolphins which apparently have found a way to do without sleep. Dolphins refuse to sleep during the first month of life.

The fact that these amazing marine animals can switch off half of his brain from time to time. Scientists constantly monitors the behavior of the dolphins for 5 days, and noticed that during this time the reaction of the animals for a second did not change and is not slowed down. Blood tests for signs of stress due to lack of sleep were negative. Dolphins can be infinitely active.

Another study showed that dolphins can use their sonar system beeps for 15 consecutive days without a break with almost perfect accuracy. This skill is necessary when they are watching for predators while relaxing in the open ocean.

9. Vision.

Everyone is aware of the sonar system of dolphins. Using published them clicks and squeaks they explore the world around them. We can assume that other ways of perceiving the world, for example, the vision, they have poorly developed. In fact, their vision is better than humans. Thus, dolphins each have an eye on each side of the head, and so they get their panoramic display environment 300 degrees. They can see what is behind them, and each eye may move independently from each other, i.e. they can look in two different directions simultaneously. They also have a reflective layer of cells behind the retina, called tapetem lucidem. It helps them to see exceptionally well in low light conditions. Besides Dolphins see well both in water and on the surface.

8. Skin.

Why dolphins are not covered by shells as whales, for example? Maybe the family of dolphins has a special immunity. What is their secret? It appears that they have a unique skin, which gives them a number of advantages. Their epidermis is not tougher than a man, but at 10 to 20 times thicker than that of any land animal. Leather dolphins heal in about nine times faster than ours. The whole layer of skin is changed every two hours. This unique ability of the skin contributes to the rapid regeneration of the skin and keep it smooth, silky and gidrodinamichnoy. Dolphins are covered with microscopic scales that help them to move much more quickly in the water and prevents parasites. But the real secret to why dolphins are so pure lies in their ability to secrete a special gel, "resist" mucus, through which cling shells. Thus, dolphins solvent coated natural gluten. It is also a unique coating also contains enzymes, which repel pests.

7. Breath.

Dolphins are very good swimmers. They can hold their breath for 12 minutes and dive nearly 550 meters (1,800 feet). Dolphins can do this because they have a particularly easy. Although they are not much greater than that of a man, but they are much more efficient. With every breath in his lungs dolphin recycles about 80% of the air. In humans, the figure is only about 17%. Their blood and muscles can also store and transport more oxygen than we have. This is because they have more red blood cells which, in turn, have a higher concentration of hemoglobin than in humans.

But it still does not fully explain why dolphins can hold their breath for so long, and dive so deep. To perform such a feat, they restrict blood circulation in your body. During prolonged immersion blood moves away from the extremities and goes to the heart and brain.

6. Healing.

The skin of a dolphin has a unique feature to quickly heal. The function has a fantastic ability to heal compared to the man. Wound size of a basketball they successfully heal. A huge piece of skin narastet a few weeks, leaving no scars, and returns to its original smooth state. The skin not only heals, it regenerates. Furthermore, if the surface skin wound appears dolphins, it bleeds. If serious damage to human skin, without timely assistance, we can die from blood loss. However, it is believed that the wounded dolphins use the same features that give them the opportunity to dive to great depths, namely, narrow the blood vessels and stop the flow of blood circulation.

5. Pain.

Dolphins do not feel pain. After a serious injury the Dolphins can continue to play, swim and even feed the kids. In fact, the Dolphins as sensitive as we are. But getting a deep wound, they simply do not pay attention to it. Some scientists believe that these animals are able to produce natural painkillers, according to the action equal to morphine.


4. Unique swimmer.

In 1936, the famous British zoologist Sir James Gray was struck by how quickly the dolphins could swim. He studied their anatomy and came to the conclusion that the Dolphins can not move with the speed with which they float in reality, because their muscles are not strong enough for the task. Thus, the thing is the skin of a dolphin, which has unique properties and specifically rejects the water flow. This phenomenon is known as "Gray's paradox».

The hypothesis Gray really is the truth - the skin of dolphins has really unique properties, but it is strongly underestimated their physical capabilities. As it turned out, kick the tail of a dolphin is 10 times more powerful than anticipated Gray. In general, the dolphin is about 6-8 times stronger swimmer entering the US Olympic team. In addition, the Dolphins have extraordinary energy. A person can convert only about 4% of their energy in the pulse movements in the water. Dolphins can convert 80% of their energy into thrust, and this ability makes them one of the best swimmers in the ocean.

3. Infections.

Dolphins swim with open wounds in an ocean full of various bacteria, and do not die from the infection. Without medical care people can die from sepsis within a few days. Dolphins have immune systems similar to human, since they purchased the super resistance to infections?

In fact, no one knows exactly. Some scientists have theorized that the body has the ability to absorb the dolphin antibiotics produced by plankton and algae. Chemicals produced by these microscopic living creatures have been found in the fatty tissues of dolphin. Subcutaneous fat is decomposed into the wound site, and gives these natural antibacterial agents. How can they keep these vital substances under the skin, is not excreted from the body, is still a mystery.

2. Magnetic feeling.

Why do dolphins and whales beaching? It is a mystery that is not just baffled researchers for many years. Among the assumptions of this strange disease, and pollution, and war sound test.

Cases where the animals were thrown on shore, recorded hundreds of years, but only recently, scientists began to suspect what is the main reason. It turns out the whole thing in the sun and the magnetic field of our planet.

In the brain, dolphins and whales have special magnetic crystals that allow them to feel the Earth's magnetic field. With a built-in system, they can move around the vast expanses of the ocean easily oriented in space. One group of researchers mapped the east coast of the US, where there is a massive deaths of dolphins. As it turned out, these areas coincide with the place where the magnetic rocks decreased the level of the magnetic field of the planet.

Thus, dolphins and whales, guided by the magnetic field during the "do not see" the bank. The scientists also found that when the sun releases too much radiation, it affects the magnetic sense of marine mammals and throws them astray. Most animals washed ashore, when the activity of the sun is strongest. This also explains the fact why the rescued animals returning to shore.

1. Electroreception dolphins.

Dolphin sonar system - this is a truly unique phenomenon. The ability to detect objects at a distance just amazing. And in conjunction with the other senses, which we have already discussed, we can conclude that dolphins have a really fantastic feeling and abilities that set them apart other creatures. However, Mother Nature gave them something else - Electroreception. This ability to feel the electrical impulses sent to other living beings. Guyanese dolphins living off the coast of South America, resemble bottlenose dolphins. The researchers discovered the special grooves on their noses, which are able to detect electrical impulses sent to the muscles of fish. A similar feature is available for animals such as platypus. They use it to find the fish, which is hidden in the mud. Echolocation allows dolphins to determine the position of objects in the far distance, but it is not particularly effective up close, and in these situations comes to the rescue Electroreception.

Scientists suspect that all the dolphins and even some whales have this extraordinary ability.


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